Julliard Meets Drummer
by Miss Gleek
Summary: AU - Rachel meets a mysterious drummer with a dark past. A past that makes her think about her choices, values, friendship, family and love. RATED M.
1. Let's Have Some Fun

****_What's up guys!_

_This is my fic, that was origanally written in Portuguese. My friends said that i should translate it to English, so i'm giving it a try. _

_A few things: JMD was written between the end of season 2 and season three. I wasn't aware of 'NYADA', that's why i used Julliard. And about Julliard, i know nothing about this college, so let's say this is my Julliard AU Version, okay? (also NYU)_

_As if it wasn't obvious, English is not my native language, so i'm sorry for any mistakes._

_And i'd like to say THANK YOU again to **Caroline **and **Gabi**. My betas. Love you girls._

_That's it. I hope you enjoy your reading._

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**Chapter One: Let's Have Some Fun**

"Today the night is ours! Uhuu!"

The two young ladies that were with her ran inside the two-story house full of college students. She saw Brittany get a beer for herself from a boy who was, apparently, wasted, then proceeded to follow her girlfriend. Santana was ahead and quickly was talking to a bunch of people while was served by a dude a shot of tequila. The blonde hugged her from behind.

The duo was used to go to these parties all the time, and it was something that she couldn't keep up with her friends. It's not like she is anti-social or isolated, it's just that she doesn't understand why people have to be drunk every weekend. Wearing a tight jeans (thanks to Santana, by the way) and a tight Julliard Drama Division shirt, her hair wavy and loose falling over her shoulders while her bangs were put a little aside to avoid falling in front of her eyes, and a light makeup she was crossing the room bumping into drunk boys and girls. She declined when offered her beers and shots and was lucky when a poor girl puked in the middle of the "dance floor" almost making her as her target. The night was only starting; this is just the beginning of one the most amazing and biggest college parties, the one right before the beginning of classes.

Rachel was paying extra attention to Santana drinking another tequila shot and the little show that her best friend was putting in front of everyone, like, sucking the lemon that Brittany had between her lips and making the boys scream. These people hardly knew how loud her friends could be. She knew Santana since high school, both were born and raised in NY, although the Latina used to bully Rachel all the time, but that changed when Santana saw herself in the middle of a sexual orientation crisis and tried - and succeeded - to kiss her. Then she admitted the bullying and everything else were Santana's way of dealing with her weird attraction to Rachel. As for Rachel, raised by a gay couple, two dads, the whole situation, although confusing, was something that she was prepared for: open mind and mature. Santana expected every negative reaction from Rachel except a helpful hand. So they started creating a bond, a friendship and by graduation the Latina came out of the closet as a lesbian.

The two of them were so different from each other, different dreams, different goals, but somehow they completed each other in a level. While Santana was accepted in NYU, Rachel went to Julliard, but decided to share an apartment together near both campuses. Med School took all Santana's time and yet tried to help her best friend with money and these stuff. Rachel though, she works as waitress in the morning and gets extra money every month from her dads.

Brittany came into their lives in the sophomore year in college, (Julliard too. Dance Division). She met Rachel by chance, through Tina who dates Mike and the boy is from her class. The foursome started a friendship and later Brittany added Mercedes – both went to high school together in Chicago – and she is from the Music Division in Julliard. Then Mercedes brought Kurt – a familiar face to Rachel because they were both in the same class, but didn't talk much -. When Santana could get a free time from her responsibilities she joined them and the spark between her and Brittany was instantaneous. The romance started by the beginning of their junior year and soon enough Santana and Brittany were sharing a room (and an apartment with Rachel). That was good, because now they are three to share the bills and the rent. From Rachel's point of view, the only thing that she lost was the silence at night. Like was said, these two can be very loud.

They are starting their sophomore year, and Santana got tired of being responsible all the fucking time, so parties are a routine for her. Mike and Tina go with her sometimes, Brittany is always with her girlfriend, Kurt, Mercedes and Rachel are not so into these stuff. But tonight Santana found a way to bring her to this party in the middle of Brooklyn.

"A-Rach!" Brittany called and saved her from a bunch of drunk boys grabbing Rachel by the hand and bringing her to Santana, who, by the way, was in the middle of another provocative show. As soon as she caught Brittany with her best friend, Santana offered a shot. "Drink with us, Hobbit!" she yelled excited.

Rachel declined alcohol again and pointed at her throat. Both didn't care very much and continued the drinking game. She laughed watching her friends getting drunk so quickly and followed both with her eyes to the dance floor where they started dancing with the rhythm of the music. Deciding that the couple could be alone for a few minutes, Rachel dared to explore the rest of the party. She crossed the chaos of people again until she was in the backyard and noticed a group of boys running around naked and laughing hysterically.

"I thought you didn't like parties very much."

She jumped a little when she felt the hot breath against her ear. Rachel turned around and saw the young man wearing the same shirt as hers. His face was very familiar and although both were Julliard students, he was older. He was the boy who she had a complicated relationship that lasted almost one year with, the boy that every girl in the Julliard Campus was crazy about. Rachel hadn't seen him since the end of her junior year, right before the beginning of the summer. He didn't seem to have changed much, except for the hair, now a little longer. Like he knew that she was thinking about his hair, the boy made a ridiculous gesture, shaking his head like those old shampoo commercials and then looked back at her.

"Hello Jesse."

She said looking away and paying her attention back to the bunch of naked dudes and laughing at their silliness.

"What brings you here?" he asked taking a few steps closer to her.

Rachel noticed what he was doing and didn't give him the chance of grabbing her hand, so she crossed her arms and took a step back. Jesse looked offended, but didn't say anything and decided to put his own hands inside his pockets.

"Santana and Brittany dragged me." She explained turning her look to his face once the naked boys disappeared. "You shouldn't drink, you know." Rachel said when saw her ex getting a beer for himself.

Jesse took a few sips before giving her a sly smile and hiding a triumphant glow behind his eyes. He tried to stay colder to her again and this time Rachel didn't retread. The boy took this as a good sign and bended a little, getting on her height level. He was so so close to her adorable face and laughed lightly when she realized the proximity between them.

"Are you worried about me, Rachel?" Jesse asked full of himself. The beer that he was drinking definitely wasn't his first one, so the alcohol breath that hit her face was strong. "Wanna get out of here? I know that you don't like parties, we could go out and have dinner or something…"

After the initial shock – because of how close they were suddenly – Rachel took two steps back and felt relieved that she was away from his (strong) beer breath.

"That's not how it works, okay? Just because we spent a summer apart it doesn't mean that everything is going to be back to normal, Jesse." She answered trying to hide the hurt in her voice.

"I don't want everything going back to normal, I want to start again. This time apart made me realize what I want in my life and I want you back, Rachel." Jesse said trying to get closer to her again, but Rachel didn't let him.

She couldn't quite believe what he just said. _Is he for real?_ Rachel offered him a sarcastic smile while her mind was bringing back the images of that May afternoon. Her emotions were starting getting out of control by every feeling being revived because of the memories. She wanted to scream, slap his face, offend him and even considered the option of Jesse being eaten alive by a lion. A vision that she liked very much.

"You _cheated_ on me! I caught you with two girls in bed, Jesse!" she fumed. "How dare you—"

"Hey! Stay away from her you piece of shit!" Santana barked interrupting them and shoving him out of the way.

"Stay out of this, Santana! This is between Rachel and I." He confronted the lesbian. Even though he was taller and stronger than Santana, his attitude didn't have any effect on her who didn't budge and stayed in the middle of them. "Get the hell out of here, bitch!" Jesse growled.

"Listen to me, St. James. I have never been your fan and I tolerated you because of my Hobbit, who I thought was very happy by your side, but deep down I always knew that you were an asshole. And you proved my point when you decided to screw two sluts behind Rachel's back. So, I won't let you near her or try to win my best friend back, ya hear me? Santana said in a furious tone and getting really close to him. "Now… You get the fuck out of way!" then she got his own beer from his hand and threw at his face.

Brittany who until then was beside Rachel watching everything, grabbed Santana's arm before Jesse could do anything or tried to hit her girlfriend. As for Santana, she didn't finish and wanted to continue their argument, but the blonde didn't let her. Meanwhile, Rachel didn't know how to react, but she surprised everyone by her laugh. She bended down laughing her ass off and letting Jesse even more pissed. Humiliated, he turned around and was gone.

"He was lucky. Next time I throw acid at his precious little face." Santana said giving Jesse's back the middle finger. She got her attention back to Rachel and smiled. "The guys are preparing a karaoke contest in there, let's have fun, Hobbit!" The trio went back to the house.

The idea was a karaoke contest, but it turned out to be a freak show. Two girls started singing Joan Jett – Britney Spears' version, though – but they stopped in the middle of the song and decided to spice things a little more, like a strip-tease. Well, neither Santana nor Brittany would let these sophomore girls take away the spotlight from them, so it's safe to say that the party got a little more _wanky._ But Rachel was tired and didn't want to bother her friends, so after letting the duo know that she was heading home, Rachel saw herself in a deserted street in the middle of night in Brooklyn.

The walk to the closest avenue was quite long and from there she could hail a taxi. The night was a little cool and the only sounds that she was hearing were from her heels hitting the ground. Rachel was sensing danger around her, every cell in her body was screaming and she was full alert: eyes and ears. The buildings were dark, people were already sleeping, and she walked faster feeling something in her throat. Panic, maybe? She should have waited for Brittany and Santana and the only second that Rachel distracted herself to take a look at her watch she feels a huge hand grabbing her arm and pulling her to a dark valley. Rachel's first thought was _rape_ and that was enough to bring tears in her eyes. She was about to scream and she felt a cold blade against her neck, then the young woman choked in her own crying while the aggressor's hands were groping on her, butt, legs. The knife was pressed with more pressure against her skin causing an irritation and she couldn't see his face, the valley was barely illuminated. His hands were back on her butt where he found fifty bucks and backed away taking her purse, running away with it.

Rachel collapsed on the floor crying and in shock. Seconds had passed when she heard a _thud_ and saw two silhouettes falling and three others around not so distant from where she was. One of them have realized what's going on and looked in her direction alarmed. The boy was a NYU student and it was in Law School, that's what his shirt was saying. He was short, curly hair full of gel, was wearing pink Ray Ban glasses – who wears glasses in the middle of the night anyway? -. Very gently he took her hand and put Rachel on her feet.

"Are you okay?" he asked taking off his glasses and holy crap, his eyebrows are _huge, _Rachel thought. She was more calm now – not on full panic attack -, but still scared as shit.

They were distracted when yells could be heard from the little group ahead. Two of them were trying to kick a person who was on the ground – her aggressor apparently – and the boy who was with Rachel went to help his friends. The Law student was successful in breaking apart the fight. Her aggressor ran away again. Then the whole group came into her direction.

"Are you okay?" the boy with huge eyebrows asked again. His voice soft and gentle while he felt comfortable enough to take a look at her and seeing the red mark caused by knife in her neck. "Wow!" he said alarmed.

"Hey Julliard, your purse."

Different from the short, curly hair student, this new guy in front of Rachel was tall. Very tall. He wasn't wearing any college t-shirt – maybe he wasn't a college student…? Maybe. -, his clothes were simple: white shirt, jeans, leather jacket, messy hair and scruff. He didn't seem very friendly, but she noticed that his bottom lip was hurt and bleeding a little. Rachel took her purse back.

"Are you okay?" it was the third time that this question was asked and by the same person: The Law student. Then he turned around to the tall boy and pointed his finger to a thin stain of blood in his white t-shit. "What is this, man?!"

"That bastard cut me with his knife when he bumped into me. It's nothing, it was just superficial." He explained lifting his shirt and showing that it was, indeed, nothing serious. "Are you okay?" now the tall boy asked while he bended a little bit to look at her, his eyes full of concern.

"Yeah, still nervous. But I'm fine, I guess." Rachel caught herself answering before opening her purse and grabbing her cell phone.

"Puck!" Tall Boy called and Rachel noticed another guy coming. He didn't seem very friendly, just like the Tall Boy. His mohawk was beyond ridiculous and his shirt was saying that The Mohawk Boy was a Firefighter in Training. "You get this stuff, I think she hurt her neck." Tall Boy informed.

"Did you fall or hit your head in somewhere?"

Just when she was about to answer another dude appeared blocking The Mohawk Boy's way. Now the whole group has faces. He seemed the strongest, blonde; his voice was even softener than the Law Student and he very gently searched for another bruises in her face and arms and paying extra attention to her neck. Suddenly the Mohawk Boy shoved The Blonde Boy out of the way and decided to continue the "exam" himself.

"Back off, Evans! Finny-D called me and not you!" Mohawk Boy said being super gentle with her bruise. "Superficial, nothing to worry about. That son of a bitch tried something more with you?" he asked backing away a little.

"You're a fucking bastard, you know that?!" The Blonde Boy said while shoving back The Mohawk Boy. "I'm a Firefighter as much as you, asshole!"

"Hey! Stop you two! Do I have to remind each one of you that you are both _in training_?!" The Law Student took a step ahead and calmed his friends. "Stop with this stupid behavior and let's worry about the girl."

"Did he try to rape you?" Tall Boy asked. His voice darker than ever while taking off his leather jacket and putting on her shoulders. Rachel didn't even notice how cold she was until feeling the leather warming her body. Tall Boy looked furious, he was tense waiting for her answer. And in the middle of all that were his eyes, still full of concern. How could he be so worried about her? They barely knew each other! "Do you want—"

"RACHEL!" the unmistakable tone of Santana's voice hit her ears. Rachel saw her friends running in her direction and both engulfed her little body in a tight hug. "Baby, are you okay? Oh my God, we came as soon as possible, I swear." The Latina and Brittany hugged her again.

"A-Rach, is everything fine?" The Blonde asked almost crying. "We shouldn't have let you go home alone, I'm so sorry!"

"How did you guys know?" Rachel was curious and finally being able to breathe again. Then the pair noticed the male audience around them.

"We heard that a student was attacked. A Julliard student. And you left and the attack happened minutes after you leaving, so…" Brittany explained and finally making eye contact with the boys. "Who are you?"

The Mohawk Boy took the honor of the presentations:

"I'm Puck. Noah Puckerman. The blonde over there is my buddy Trouty Mouth, or Sam Evans if you like." Sam gave him the finger while Puck continued his duty and pulling Blaine by his side. "This is Blaine Anderson and the dude there is my Finny-D, or Finn. Whatever." He finished. "By the way, my boy Finn was the one who kicked that bastard's ass! I tried to knock him out, but Sam is a motherfucker and didn't let me!" Puck whined. Sam gave him the finger again.

With a full smile plastered on his face, Puck turned to Santana and Brittany and asked. "What about you, ladies?" he tried to sound charming but failing miserably.

"I'm Brittany and this is my girlfriend Santana." She answered making the boys' eyes pop out of their heads. "We appreciate what you guys made for Rachel."

"You men are always the same." Santana said in a bored tone. "And stop smiling like an idiot!" she barked looking at Puck. "Instead of fantasize about us, why don't you go back home to your _wife_?" Santana added and making very clear that she saw the wedding ring on his finger.

"C'mon, we'll take you guys safely to the avenue, and then you can hail a taxi." Finn, the Tall Boy said pulling Rachel with him. "Don't worry Julliard, you guys are safe with us."

They exchanged small smiles and that was enough for Rachel. Tall Boy intrigued her, not in a bad way. They walked in silence while Santana and Puck continued bickering like an old married couple behind them.

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_tbc._


	2. The Damn Jacket

_YAY HAPPY (WHATEVER YOU CELEBRATE) EVERYONE! Did you have fun, huh? I hope so._

_Like I said in the last post, English is not my native language_ _that's why I need betas. But my two betas are busy right now. I sent this chapter to them and they didn't send it back to me. And I don't think it's fair to let you guys waiting for an update. So, my apologies in advance because this chapter is UNBETATED. I tried my best, seriously._

_About the reviews: THANK YOU SO MUCH. :)_

_Here's the update. Sorry for the delay._

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**Chapter Two: The Damn Jacket**

Rachel closed the door after her two friends entered, turned on the lights and almost stepped on Lord Tubbington's tail, as usual - that cat doesn't like her at all -. She doesn't blame him, though. It's not like she doesn't like animals, because she does. Rachel is vegan! Brittany's cat had his tail stepped on so many times before, but that's because Rachel is very distracted. Anyway, he ran away from them as soon as they arrived while she left her purse on the table and took off her heels. Brittany and Santana walked past her – both barely walking to be honest -, then Rachel started the countdown.

_5, 4, 3, 2, 1…_

There. Puke all over the place. Thanks to Santana.

The Dance Division student wasn't that bad – different from her girlfriend - and through her eyes she apologized to Rachel. Santana lost her balance for a moment and fell with a loud _thud_ on the floor scaring off the poor cat that was just trying to sleep peacefully. Rachel likes to say that it's like a cycle. It repeats every time they go out, they have fun, they get drunk and this is what happens when they arrive home. The only sober in the house, she went to her room grabbing her heels and purse, coming back a few seconds later to help Brittany to put Santana on her feet again.

"You got mugged and I'm the one who needs help. This is not fair, little Hobbit!" Santana murmured barely keeping her eyes open. Rachel scrunched her nose because her best friend smelled like puke, beer, party and smoke.

"I take it from here, A-Rach." Brittany said supporting Santana under her arms and taking her to the bathroom. "Go to sleep, Rachel. You had a tough night. I'll clean all the mess when I put this lady here in our bed."

The little brunette smiled in appreciation and went to her room again. Feeling too tired to take a shower, Rachel decided to take one in the morning. She took off the rest of her clothes and changed to an old t-shit and tiny pair of shorts. Rachel was so exhausted – physically and mentally – that she didn't care about the mess of clothes she was doing in her room. She turned off the lights and slept almost immediately.

* * *

The foursome shared a taxi ride back to the bustling bar. Puck was the first one to say goodbye because he knew what was waiting for him in the first floor above the bar: an angry wife. Sam, Finn and Blaine faced furious Quinn before and that was scared as fuck.

Quinn is a young lady with a life full of ups and downs. She got kicked out of her house by her parents when she was about to finish high school because she found out that she was pregnant. The boyfriend didn't want her or the child and she refused to go to a shelter, so Quinn spent a period on the streets, where she ended up meeting Puck and Sam.

It was a hot summer day in New York, for days she didn't know what was like to have a meal and walking under a cruel sun didn't it help either. She was feeling so weak and tired; Quinn tried to focus on something as walking, but it was getting so hard to breathe and suddenly everything went black. The two boys were the first ones to help her and call an ambulance. It's safe to say that Puck fell in love at first sight and refused to leave her side in the hospital; he stayed with her all day long, getting to know her. She told him about her old life, what her parents and boyfriend did to her, and Puck told Quinn a little bit of himself. Sam and Puck called Emma Schuester, who is a social worker and begged her to help Quinn: a three old pregnant without a roof. Emma saw something and Quinn and decided to take her in, she put the blonde under her wings. The Schuester took her to live with them, filling the space that her parents had left, taking care of Quinn and the baby but with a price, of course: as long as she worked as a waitress after the birth of the child. Emma supported Quinn through it all; meanwhile she and Puck were getting closer – who shared with his friend an apartment above the bar, that belong to William Schuester. The romance bloomed between them and even though the child wasn't his, Puck decided to give his name to the baby, and when Quinn was six old pregnant he proposed. It was a small ceremony with a small party, just for them and a few friends. As a wedding gift, Will built up a second floor – right above the apartment that Sam and Puck lived - and gave it to them. A house, a baby, a family. They have everything.

About Puck and Sam; they were friends since high school and had no idea of what to do with their lives after graduation. So out of the blue they decided to travel through the States by car, leaving behind their small shitty city in Florida. They stopped in New York because it was their last destination; after all they had no money left. After selling the car, they had to make some money and the idea came from Sam: playing their guitars (the only objects they refused to sell) in front of a subway entrance. It worked. The boys got lucky because at the same time, Will was just starting his business (the bar) and he needed something like a band to call the attention to the place. He called them, they talked; and the bar owner made a deal with them: Sam and Puck were responsible for playing music and in exchanged Will would let them live in the small apartment above the bar, and for extra money they would work as waiters.

(The history of how they decided to become firefighters began when Puck realized that being a waiter wasn't enough for him to take care of his family. The Schuester supported his decision without a doubt, but both young men continued working and helping Schue whenever they could. )

Finn. His story is more complicated and at the same time is a mystery. He came to New York feeling completely lost, like he was running away from something. From the four boys, he was the less talkative, who doesn't say much about his life before New York, the one who is always watching everything from afar, the one who built a thick wall around him and doesn't let anyone to come inside – except Schuester and Puck. Will was like a godfather to them, but he saw something familiar in Finn, he saw himself when he was young like Finn. Maybe that's why Finn trusted in him so much. And the thing with Puck, it's like a bro thing, maybe they were best friends in another life.

Finn was one of Will's first customers. He was there every night, always ordering the same things. He stopped his black custom motorcycle, took off his helmet – same color – and went straight to the most isolated table inside the bar and always leaving at about one or two in the morning. At first the only thing Will knew about him is that he worked as a mechanic not so far away from the bar. When Schuester put ads out there looking for a drummer, he was surprised when Finn was the only one who answered the ad. The boy auditioned in front of Will, Emma, Quinn, Puck and Sam and after watching how good he was they invite Finn to become part of the band – and later Sam asked him to live with him in the apartment that he used to share with Puck, now married.

That's when Blaine comes into the picture. The bar was getting attention, especially from college students. Through the day the bar seemed like a diner and at night the place looked like a real bar with karaoke and with the band – Puck, Sam and Finn. Blaine started going to the bar everyday to have lunch and sometimes he showed up at night. One of these nights he decided to have fun with the band and sang with them. The audience liked their performance a lot and asked for more, and Will noticed it, of course. After talking to the boys, they asked Blaine if he wanted to be their singer.

After a few weeks Blaine was completely comfortable with his new friends, they go out together; they play Call of Duty together, they have fun together. But things got heavy for the Law Student when his roommate made a homophobic comment about him, which started an argument. Blaine is gay, everyone knew that. After this he decided to leave the NYU campus and went to the Journey's Bar and Diner (Will loves Journey, okay?), where he told everything that happened – Puck wanted to punch the dude's face and once again Sam didn't let him -, so Finn and Sam took him in, now they are three in a two-bedroom apartment. But Blaine didn't mind the couch.

Puck on the guitar, Sam on the bass, Finn on the drums and Blaine as the singer. The New Directions was formed.

Back to the present. The three friends went inside just to take a look at the movement and saw some familiar faces, daily customers, but most of the people were from the college party that they just arrived from. Blaine invited them; Sam got excited (because of the girls, of course), Puck got excited too - although before leaving he left a very furious Quinn at home, who talked to Finn in private asking him to keep an eye on her husband (Finn went just because of this) - but Finn didn't expect getting hurt, much less kicking a bastard's ass and meeting three wonderful girls, even though the Latina seemed scary.

The boys said hi to a few people and stopped to talk to the bartender, David Karofsky.

"How was there?" Karofsky asked after serving a couple two martinis.

"We met two hot lesbians, dude! I wish I could see them making out!" Sam answered and serving himself with a glass of water. "I forgot her names, though. What are their names, Finn?" he asked.

Finn turned his head back to his friends and with a look he asked Karofsky a glass of water full of ice cubes. Sam looked offended because his water didn't have ice cubes and then he looked at the David, who rolled his eyes.

"The blonde is Brittany, the brunette is Santana and the shortie is Rachel."

"Hold up. I thought it was a lesbian couple, not a lesbian threesome." Dave said looking confused.

"The blonde and the brunette are lesbians, if the midget is a lesbian, I don't know. Two of them are Julliard students and the other one is from NYU." Sam informed noticing Will coming in their direction. "What's up, boss? Look, it's water. I'm didn't drink today, I swear. Finn knows that I'm being honest." He said a little bit nervous. Sam has reasons since Will decided to keep an eye on them.

"Big Mouth is clean. Neither Puck nor Sam drank tonight. Don't worry, Will." He assured winning a nod from the owner. Sometimes Will sees himself not only as a godfather, but as a father too. "How's Mrs. Schue? And the little Schuester" Finn asked.

Will just became a father of a beautiful little boy called Ian.

"Emma has been feeling insecure about herself as a mother and Ian is a troublemaker. But Quinn is great with her, and apparently that boy loves Beth." Will answered smiling and remembering how Ian gets very agitated whenever Beth is around. "Hey Finn, I tried to get your motorcycle inside, but I didn't find the keys." He said giving a nod to Blaine who was in another table talking to some of his friends from college.

"Oh, that's because the keys are wit—" Finn stopped as soon as he felt nothing but air inside his pockets. Frustrated, he punched the counter making all the glasses tremble. "Shit! I left my jacket with Julliard! And the keys are inside of my jacket's pocket!" he explained to Will.

"Who?" Will says completely lost.

"The lesbian." Karofsky answers and leaving Schuester ever more confused.

"No you idiot! Julliard is the midget" – Sam corrects Dave and tries to hit his friend's head with his hands.

"Isn't her name Rachel?" Karofsky is confused now. He looks to Sam and Finn waiting for an explanation.

"I'm screwed." Finn said ignoring whatever they were talking about. "How am I going to get my keys back?! We just took them to the avenue so they could hail a taxi and that's it! We don't even know where they live! Fuck."

"Didn't you say that one of them is from NYU? Blaine is from NYU." Dave tried to be helpful before being called by a group of executives.

"Hell yes! Do you know her major?" Sam asked excited for a second because Karofsky was smart. "I know that I saw NYU on her shirt." He added stealing the ice cubes from Finn's glass.

"I don't know her major. Actually, I know nothing about them." Finn said getting up a little and looking for Blaine in the middle of the mass of people. He found him. "BLAINE!" he shouted.

* * *

"How can you wake up early on a Sunday after spending the night at a party?" Santana asked when Rachel closed the door behind her. She just got home from a delicious morning run.

The little brunette felt pity watching the living room all dark because Santana and Brittany couldn't handle the brightness of a wonderful morning. The blonde was all over the couch hiding her face under her arms with Lord Tumbbington relaxed on her belly while Santana was on the floor barely moving. Both still in their pajamas and going through a hangover.

"Did you guys eat?" Rachel ignored her best friend's question and came back from the kitchen with a bottle of water in her hands.

"Too tired." Brittany informed with a muffled voice.

"I'm going to take another shower and then I'm going to make us some breakfast. After that I want you both back to bed." Rachel said looking at them, especially to Brittany who stared at her for a second - clearly interested in the bottle that she was holding. "Take it. Share it with San." She threw it to them. And with that she went to her room.

Thirty minutes later Rachel made a quick breakfast in which was rich in carbohydrates to restore the energy that they lost last night, peanut butter, bacon and eggs – although she was vegan, but because of her friends non-vegan diet she let herself doing these stuff once in a while. To be fair, Santana insisted in doing the dishes while Rachel decided to clean up the mess that she left in her room.

The room was a chaos of clothes. She grabbed her running shoes and her heels from the party and put them on their places; made the bed, organized her books and notebooks from college, threw some dirty clothes inside the laundry basket; put the clean ones back to the wardrobe… Then she noticed an unfamiliar leather jacket hanging on her chair.

Walking back to the kitchen with the leather piece in her hands, she asked:

"Is it yours?"

Both girls analyzed it for a moment, but it was Santana who started smiling suspiciously before answering her.

"It belongs to your hero, princess. The one who got your purse back yesterday." The Latina said and grabbing the jacket from Rachel's hands. "Look what we got here!" she exclaimed after finding some keys inside one of its pockets.

"Oh my god! That's right!" Rachel recognized it. Memories of last night hit her like a train; Tall Boy putting the jacket on her, warming her body. Even though she got mugged, Rachel couldn't ignore the fact that Finn was so worried about her. Like, she was just a stranger after all. "Give it back!" she ordered to Santana who gave the keys back to her friend. "How am I going to give the jacket back to him? I can't keep it!"

"It's huge." Brittany commented. "And you are this little, Rach. It must have been funny. Why didn't I notice this yesterday?" She asked herself while tried to project the image of Rachel wearing the huge jacket in her mind.

"Are you serious about giving it back? When a guy gives his jacket to a girl they generally keep it!" Santana retorted trying to get the keys back, but Rachel was faster. She took two steps closer to her best friend smiling; she had this face where she was about to make a sagacious comment. "You are naughty, Hobbit. You want to give it back because you want to meet him again." The Latina teased making Brittany laugh.

"_Santana!"_

"Oh, she is right, A-Rach! You like him!" Brittany teased a little bit more before laughing hysterically with her girlfriend. Rachel was pissed.

"_I do not!"_

More laughter exploded from the couple. Rachel pissed was so much fun, but funnier than that was to tease her, because the little brunette is an easy target and she gets furious in a matter of seconds.

"Don't worry, Hobbit. I'm going to find your hero and set you up on a date with him. I noticed one of them studies in NYU, and if I'm not mistaken I think it's Law School." She said squeezing Rachel's cheeks, who scolded her. "What's his name?" Santana asked to her girlfriend.

"Who? The name of Rachel's hero or the name of the one who goes to NYU, baby?"

"Both, actually."

"Finn. His name is Finn." Rachel answered without thinking. It was too late when she realized what she had done. It was enough to fuel Santana's teasing. The couple switched sly smiles, full of bad intentions.

"The other one is Blaine _Hamerson_, I think. I don't know. Something like that." Brittany said walking around Santana and hugging her from behind. "You should go after him, San." She added kissing her cheek sweetly.

"Forget it, I'll keep the jacket. There's no need for that, Britt." Rachel changed her mind, and then she looked directly to Santana. "Don't you dare."

Santana winked discreetly to Brittany while Rachel was staring at the jacket with more interest, completely oblivious to their talk without words. She got a little closer to Rachel until she was near enough to feel the smell of the piece of leather.

"I see." The Latina commented. "It smells good. You want to keep his smell. How cute, Hobbit!" and the teasing was back. Rachel murdered Santana with a look, which she ignored and started laughing with Brittany again.

"_Santana!" _her furious tone was obvious. Rachel threw the jacket on the sofa and made a cute angry pout. "I can't even with you two, honestly!"

"On Monday I'll go after this Blaine guy and I'll let him know that his friend's jacket is with you." She paused and pointed to the leather garment on the couch; Brittany's cat looking at it carefully. "In a few weeks when you'll be inside your room moaning your hero's name, don't forget to thank me, okay Hobbit?"

_"Santana!"_ it should have been the millionth time Rachel spat her friend's name like that. Don't get her wrong, but Santana wasn't an angel, much less the evil. But she says whatever she wants, whenever she wants without a filter. Three years of friendship and Rachel still didn't know how to deal with Santana's behavior.

* * *

_Santana Lopez was on a mission._

She didn't have much success in her searching for the Law Student boy in the morning, but that's because she didn't have the time. Since it was the beginning of the classes, things get agitated, lost freshmen everywhere; anyway, a mess of students around the campus. Besides that, Santana has her own responsibilities, like tutoring.

But in the afternoon, her schedule is more flexible, so she got a free time and continued her mission. After arriving in the Law building – not so far away from the Med School's – and flirting with some boys (Rachel sometimes calls Santana _Maureen_ from RENT, because even though she is a serious relationship with Brittany, she just couldn't stop herself from flirting with men or women), she excepted finding a list with the name of the students in one of these walls. Santana crossed a few halls, but didn't find anything useful.

She was frustrated.

The halls were full of young men and women, but none of their faces were familiar. Why this Blaine guys couldn't have a Mohawk, like Puck? It would be much easier to find him. The only thing that could indentify him was his eyebrows from another planet – because _holy fuck, _those shits seemed to have lives of their own. And besides this, his unique pink Ray Ban glasses.

"Freshman?"

Santana turned around and looked down. An old man, almost bald, wearing a gray suit and giving his hand to shake was standing in front of her. He looked nice, but she ignored his gesture.

"Nope. Med School. Sophomore." The Latina answered.

"Wrong building then, miss." He said feeling offended by her attitude and putting his hands inside his pockets. "But can I help you?" he insisted.

"I'm looking for a Law student, I don't know if he is a freshman or whatever, but he forgot something with me and I'd like to give it back to him. We met last weekend in a college party and the only thing that I remember was seeing NYU and Law School written on his shirt." Yeah, she distorted a little bit the real story, but Santana didn't care.

"I see." He said thoughtful. "Although I'm against this kind of party because I don't understand why the youth of nowadays needs to associate alcohol with fun." He babbled more with himself than with her, oblivious to Santana rolling her eyes and feeling bored already. "Do you, at least, remember his name, miss?"

"Blaine Hamerson, I guess." she said before taking a look around one more time. The grandpa was making her sleep.

"PROFESSOR! PROFESSOR FIGGINS!" a guy came yelling from the stairs and running in their direction. "Thank god I found you, sir. I'd like to talk to you about the possibility of a debate about the legalization of gay marriage in New York next week! I think it would be the perfect opportunity to put our skills out there and OH! I'm so sorry, forgive me, please… I didn't—"

He can talk fast, Santana noticed. A conversation between Rachel and him would be funny.

"Mr. Anderson, it's okay." Figgins said smiling at his student. "I'll make the call by email, you'll receive the details until the end of the day. Your idea is very interesting." The old man continued, this time turning his smile to Santana, who had the absolute confirmation that the guy is a weirdo grandpa. "I would say this is a big coincidence since this lady over here was looking for you, Mr. Anderson."

They stared one another for a moment.

"A big coincidence, indeed. Thank you, Professor Figgins." Santana thanked the old (weirdo) man. She grabbed Blaine by the hand and walked away with him by her side. He looked the same: curly hair full of gel, a white social shirt, a red bow tie, a black vest; the same alien eyebrows and the pink glasses inside the shirt's pocket. "So it's _Anderson_ and not _Hamerson."_ She corrected herself. "Hello again, Blaine."

"I don't want to look like a maniac or something, but I was about to go to your building. But I saw Professor Fggins and I needed to talk to him." He informed holding up his hand to her. "It's Santana, isn't it?"

"That's right." She nodded taking his hand to shake.

"How's your friend? Rachel, I mean. Is she okay?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah. She's fine. No traumas. It's not her first the time, you know. Though it still is scary as fuck when it happens." Santana answered taking the exit with him; the Sun hitting their faces while they crossed the patio full of people. "By the way, I suspect that our meeting is about a jacket, am I right?"

Blaine hesitated before giving her an answer:

"Hum, yeah. My friend left the keys of his precious motorcycle inside one of the jacket's pockets, and I don't want to sound rude, but would it be possible if I get the jacket back with the keys?" Blaine wanted to know. He looked anxious beside her, but that's because Santana can be intimidating sometimes. The curly hair full of gel boy grabbed his glasses and put them on.

Santana had to admit that he looked charming wearing them.

"So, when Rachel realized that she came back home wearing his jacket, she freaked out. And since we have this little detail in common, you know… " she paused and gestured the whole NYU around them. "She asked me if I could look for you and ask you to tell your friend to meet with her, because she feels very sorry and didn't mean to '_steal'_ his jacket. Also, she wanted to thank him again for what he did for her." Once again Santana distorted the whole story, but it was for a good cause. "She has this crazy ethic , ya know?" she finished.

The boy smiled and nodded. Thank god that Blaine didn't know the meanings behind Santana' smiles.

"I think Finn wouldn't mind."

"Great! In this case…" Santana interrupted herself to get a bright pink little card from her purse and passed it to him. "… ask your friend to give her a call as soon as possible. You have the residential number and her cell phone."

_Mission accomplished._

* * *

"_Rachel B. Berry – Being part of something special makes you special." _He read it out loud.

"What?" Sam took the little card from Finn's hands and noticed how pink it was and it was full of gold stars all over it. In the center was her name and the sentence that Finn just read it was a little bit further down. Bottom right it was the number of her apartment and bottom left it was her cell phone number. "She is obsessed with gold stars, dude."

"The Princess found her hero, Prince Charming." Puck said. He was finding the whole situation hilarious. "It looks like you have a date with the Little Hottie, Finny-D." he added wagging his eyebrows.

"Is this serious?" Finn asked Blaine. It was hard to believe.

"That's what Santana told me." he said stealing the Doritos from Puck's hands.

* * *

"Santana Lopez! I'm going to cut you in pieces and then serve you as a meal to the felines in the zoo!"

It was almost 9pm when Rachel's voice echoed inside the apartment scaring Brittany who was lied down and relaxed on the couch, eating popcorn and watching TV. She ended up dropping the bowl on the floor when the bedroom's door made another loud noise and Rachel appeared in the middle of the living room with her face livid.

Santana, who was in the kitchen, knew exactly what she had done. She was in so much trouble. The Latina didn't care, though. At about ten minutes ago Rachel's cell phone rang and that's why the midget was so pissed.

Laughing hysterically, Santana crossed the living room like a bullet and got lucky in finding the door of their home unlocked. Rachel ran after her in fury.

"Come back here! I'm gonna kill you!

* * *

_tbc. (soon, I hope)_


	3. It's Not a Date!

****_Look! It's another update! (this one was fast, huh?)_

_Thanks to my awesome BETAS: **Gabi and Caroline.**_

_And Happy New Year, guys! I'll see you next year! (haha lame joke)_

* * *

**Chapter Three: It's Not a Date!**

_"Huh, Rachel Berry?"_

_ "Yeah, that's me. Who is this?" she asks putting her notebook aside with her books. Rachel checks the watch beside her bed, almost 9pm. Who would call her at this time, after all?_

_ Although curious about the mysterious call, Rachel couldn't help herself feeling a little bit frustrated, 'cause she was focused in her homework about Shakespeare and in the blink of an eye she lost her thoughts. Her teacher was a pain in the ass, a guy called Sandy Ryerson. He was kind of a legend in Julliard, except he was also the devil incarnate. His homework's were so random, long and complicated, like this one about Shakespeare. A report about his plays, ideas and life. _

_ "It's, huh, Finn." _

_ The voice was unfamiliar to her; she frowned with the feeling that she should have recognized the name. Rachel got up from her bed and put the pink slippers on and started pacing around the bedroom anxious; she bit her bottom lip taking a look around expecting some sign or whatever. She hates when this kind of situation happens, like she should remember something but she doesn't know what it is. For some reason, her Broadway posters hanging on the walls and on her wardrobe caught the brunette's attention, but what made her jump in realization was the leather garment hanging on with her purses in the space between her bed and wardrobe._

_ "F-Fi-Finn! From the party?!" she knew it was him, but Rachel had to ask._

_ "Yeah."_

_ Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god! _

_ How the hell he got her number, anyway?_

_ Holding the cell phone against her ear, Rachel continued her nervous walking and taking deep breaths; the leather jacket even more evident in her vision._

_ "Hey, how are you? I mean, after what happened to you, ya know."_

_ While she was about to freak out, her stomach making weird noises, sweating like a pig, she was – literally – freaking out. What? Rachel is intense, she always manages to turn something little and insignificant into something huge with lots of drama. Any other person would have a normal reaction, right? Right._

_ But Rachel is different. She overreacts and overanalyzes everything too much._

_ Like now. This worry, the way he is always seems worried about her. For God's sake, they are strangers… Is this a normal behavior from a human being? Is he a stalker? A psycho, maybe? At the same time, Rachel has opposite thoughts. She feels bipolar, honestly. It's good to know that someone cares about you every once in a while, even if it's coming from a stranger. But that's one side of the situation… See? She's thinking about the whole mess way too much already. _

_ "Fine, I'm fine. Thank you. And you?" she answered and suddenly being hit by a flashback from the night they met; one of his friends pointing a thin blood line in his white shirt. "Your cut! Are you alright? Did you need any stitches? Did you go to the hospital?" someone stop her, please._

_ Rachel covered her mouth with her free hand feeling embarrassed. She was out of control, it's like her mouth was alive or something. The short brunette made a mental note of paying more attention from now on. Her chatter needs to stop. _

_ He laughed._

_ She was nervous, but she wasn't deaf. Rachel stopped abruptly and put her hand on her hips; an old habit when she feels caught off guard. The fact that she was smiling because of his laugh… What the hell? Rachel shook her head trying to get rid of that smile._

_ Seriously… What the hell?!_

_ "It was nothing, don't worry. So, I kind of, huh, left my jacket with you and the keys of my bike were in one of its pockets." _

_ Of course she remembered the keys, she also remembered Santana trying to catch them from her hands. Rachel grabbed the jacket and found the keys again; the key chain was interesting, it contained a symbol – which took her a few seconds to figure it out -. The Army. Was he from the Army? Even though Rachel didn't actually know Finn, he didn't look like someone who dedicates his life to this beautiful cause. Another thing that caught her eyes was the little letters C and H. Do they mean something? She was dying to know and ask him, but she was smart enough to keep her mouth shut._

_ "Sorry, I didn't mean to steal your jacket. I realized that it was with me on Sunday morning." Finn couldn't see her, but Rachel blushed madly while her mind kept bringing back Santana's and Brittany's innuendos from that morning."Your keys and your jacket are safe. How can I turn them back to you?" she asked feeling her cheeks burn. Rachel noticed that she just asked him on a date, I mean, there was the possibility of him take her words in the wrong way. The last thing she wanted was to give her friends a reason to mock her._

_ "I, huh… I think it's better if I meet you in Julliard. If that's okay with you…?"_

_ "No, it's perfect, actually!" She practically screamed over the phone. Rachel Berry, what's your problem? She thought before closing her eyes and taking a few deep breaths again. _

_ He laughed one more time._

_ And she smiled just like the last time._

_ "Great! What time should I meet you? I don't want to bother you, 'cause you are probably full of classes and stuff."_

_ There it was his worry again. Rachel noticed that his voice softened everytime he expresses his worries towards her. What's the point of this observation, after all? She was losing focus._

_ "At about 6pm. That's the time I'm leaving my last class." She said biting superficially the nail of her ring finger. Rachel caught her lips forming another smile… "Oh, I hope the time is okay with you too! I mean I-I…" She added quickly, but being rewarded with another laugh from Finn._

_ She was getting spoiled._

_ What?_

_ RACHEL!_

_ Since when Rachel fights internally with herself, huh?_

_ "No, that's fine. I'll see you tomorrow, then. I guess."_

_ She could tell that he was still smiling. How? Are you a witch or something now? Rachel shut her eyes trying to contain this other voice inside her head that came from nowhere. Before ending the call, the brunette had one more question:_

_ "I'm curious… How did you get my number?"_

_ "Your friend, Santana. She gave it to my friend Blaine. I thought you knew…?"_

_ His voice rose up a little bit and Rachel noticed it. The girl wasn't paying attention to the conversation anymore; her eyes were glued to the door, heavy breaths while her head was choosing the best way to kill Santana._

_ "Yes, of course. I'll see you tomorrow, Finn." She said._

_ "Okay. Good night, Julliard."_

_ Her unexpected nickname let her more at easy, calmer. She wished him a good night as well and then Rachel threw her cell phone on her bed. Marching with determination and seeing nothing but red in front of her eyes, Rachel stomped out of her room in fury._

_ Santana Lopez was her target_

* * *

"Patti LuPone, take this grilled ham cheese to the table number three and then you are free to go." Sue ordered shoving the meal on her hands.

Rachel worked as a waitress for almost two years in The Sue's Corner; it was one of the most popular places inside the campus, always full of students. People say that she is lucky because Sue – her boss – is a pain in the ass and she was famous for firing her employees way too quickly. She remembered exactly how she got a soft spot on Sue's heart; Rachel took the chance even after being warned about Sue's reputation. Looking for a job – 'cause she didn't want to depend on her dads for everything -, Rachel tried her luck and failed. Sue Sylvester didn't like college students, but worse than that, Sue hates freshman.

The thing is that Sue didn't know how insistent Rachel could be.

After spending a week chasing after the older woman, calling her, sending emails – Rachel even worked one shift for free just to show her how efficient she was – Sue finally gave in and offered her the job. Morning and weekends shifts when Julliard was hosting an event or party.

The only person that worked as long as she is a boy called Jacob. He was Sue's nephew and an orphan since he was fourteen. She knew a few things about him, like he wasn't a college student and spends his days working. Rachel didn't waste her time making friends on her job – Sue doesn't keep the people around to bond with -, and even though they were the only ones immune to Sue's reputation, the boy is quiet. Sometimes she catches him looking at her and if it wasn't a rumor going around about him; Rachel would find these looks cute. But the guy was known as a perverted. Rumor has it that he was caught inside one of ladies bathroom.

Sue's nicknames were so random and she never called Rachel by her real name. At first she tried to correct her boss, but after two months Rachel gave up. They were about Broadway's legends and she didn't mind, honestly.

Following Sue's orders, she left the meal on the table number three and came back. Behind the counter she took off her uniform, undid the ponytail while Sue gave her normal clothes. The whole process took ten minutes and she was Rachel Berry, the Julliard student again. Light clothes were back on with a cute headband and a final touch on her makeup. She got off the Sue's Corner bathroom just to face her boss.

"The usual, I suppose?" she asked before making her way to the kitchen while Rachel grabbed her Julliard backpack. "You should quit this crazy diet; look how pale you are, LuPone!" Sue exclaimed lifting Rachel's face to exam it.

"I've already told you; quit smoking and I quit my vegan diet." The brunette answered smiling a little bit as watching Sue snort stubbornly. "And yes, the usual." Rachel added.

"Great. I'll make your goddammit vegan sandwich and send Cindy to your table to take the orders from the others." Sue said while looking at a specific table; the same old faces.

Rachel watched Mike and Tina whisper to each other; he should have said something pretty naughty because the Asian girl blushed like a tomato before slapping his chest in protest. Mike is a nice guy and a great dancer; besides Kurt, he is the only boy – and the only straight too – in their little family. The Asian boy pulled his girl to give Tina a hug while laughing out loud. Kurt was the one wanting attention now; apparently he was starting to tell a story and sometimes he lowered his voice while his hands were gesturing madly. When Rachel got near them the whole table exploded with hysterical laughs; she didn't know what was so funny in Kurt's little story, but she felt infected by their joy and started laughing with her friends. Mercedes noticed her presence and pulled the girl to join them.

"Oh my dear, I was telling them about the day when the Dean caught Sandy looking at me suspiciously, like if I was a delicious piece of meat." Kurt told Rachel while pulling her to a hug. "I'm gay, but that _thing _is not my type." He completed.

"I don't know what's worse: Sandy Ryerson, the lunatic, chasing after you or Jew-Fro eating Rachel with his eyes." Santana finally decided to interact with them after spending long minutes making out with Brittany in the middle of The Sue's Corner.

"Oh, and by the way, did you guys finish that Shakespeare homework Sandy asked?" Rachel turned her face to Kurt and Tina and ignoring Santana's presence.

Her attitude caused an awkward silence in the table; the young adults exchanged looks between them waiting an explanation. Santana rolled her eyes while Rachel tried to look nonchalant; both behaviors causing more confused expressions on their friends' faces.

Santana and Rachel rarely fight. Of course, the Latina teases her best friend merciless, but the short brunette got used to it. Sometimes things get out of control, like hitting each other's weakness using words and they spend at about two hours – at least – without talking. Both girls are so stubborn and don't like to admit that they are wrong, but they know each other very well to know their limits, so they know when it's time to stop.

"Brittany?" Kurt called her expecting an explanation from her, since she lived with Rachel and Santana.

"San set A-Rach up with someone against her will." The blonde said resting her head on Santana's shoulder.

"Rachel is being a pain in the ass. Remember when she got mugged and I told you guys about the handsome tall boy that left his jacket with her?" Santana looked at his friends who nodded their heads. "So, one of his friends goes to NYU and I found a guy called Blaine." She continued trying to get Rachel's attention, but she was still acting nonchalant. "She said that she wanted to give it back to him!" the Latina accused her best friend.

"You acted behind my back, Lopez! You offered my cell phone number to strangers! I didn't ask you anything, did I?" Rachel answered angrily before crossing her arms against her chest.

The whole table noticed that the situation was way more serious than a little fight when Rachel referred to Santana by using her last name.

"I did you a favor, Hobbit! I killed two birds with one stone! Not only you're going to give that motherfucking jacket back to him, but I set you up with the handsome Frankenstein!"

"You are absolutely unbelievable! Who do you think you are?! My personal Cupid?! I wanted to give the jacket back to him, but I wanted to do it my way!" she barked without even noticing Sue and Cindy coming to their table with their orders and drinks.

"This way you're going to scare off the costumers, Barbra Streisand." Sue adverted Rachel. "No yelling around here, but if you wanted to kill each other – which I don't mind at all, but at the same time it would be too bad because the idea of replacing you doesn't seem appealing to me -, please do it away from my diner. I don't want to be responsible for your carnage." Sue finished her speech and delivered the orders to each one and then walked away.

Santana watched Rachel's boss from distance before snapping back to reality where she pushed Kurt out of his seat and took his place, sitting beside her best friend. Rachel pretended to not care and continued eating her sandwich, avoiding Santana's ways to get her attention. The Med School student was getting tired of this bullshit.

"First of all, I did not act behind your back. Do you really think that I'm like this, Berry?" she started talking and making very clear to Rachel – who was the one who knew Santana very well – that she was a little bit offended. "You heard me saying I was going after Blaine and I went. Second, if I set you up with him that's because I saw something between you two and because I can't stand you moping around the apartment anymore. Get over Jesse! He's a son of a bitch who doesn't deserve you, Hobbit!"

_"I'm not moping around!"_ Rachel retorted, but she didn't sound steady. Feeling guilty she toyed with her orange juice and avoided Santana's eyes. "I know he is a jerk, but would you mind saving his mother from your offending words? She's a lovely lady." Rachel reprimanded the Latina, who once again rolled her eyes. "I appreciate your concern, though." And with that the heavy tension around the table vanished and both girls smiled at each other.

The group breathed relieved once their fight ended. Mercedes winked to Rachel and Santana, Mike continued devouring his sandwich and his girlfriend was still feeling uneasy near them; meanwhile Brittany was clapping happily and Santana hugged Rachel before getting up and letting Kurt get back to his seat. For a few minutes they ate in silence until Rachel noticing their looks on her.

"Okay, I don't want to be on your black list, Little Diva, but I need details! What time is the date? How is he? Is he cute? Younger or older than you? C'mon, spill!" Kurt was almost jumping up and down on his seat; he was so excited and curious.

Rachel turned to Santana and accused her silently with a look. She was being interrogated and it's Santana's fault. The Latina blew a kiss to her best friend.

"Oh, he is tall! Taller than Mike!" Brittany informed. "Like, he's a giant!"

"Everyone is a giant near our Hobbit!" Mercedes's comment made everyone laugh.

"It's not a _real date_. We'll meet here, in Julliard I mean. I'll just return his jacket to him and that's it. It's not a date." Rachel answered and ignored the disappointment in their eyes.

If they were thinking that Rachel would get all excited and start talking about how his voice turned more serious over the phone, even though personally Finn's voice is soft, betraying all of bad boy and rebellious appearance, or how his laugh is contagious or how Finn is always worried about her, making her feel somehow special…

No, she wouldn't say a word about it_._

* * *

Finn got out of his room looking like a dog after being washed, shaking his head and throwing water all over the place. He ignored Puck's whistles and him calling Finn "hot stuff" while checking his reflection against the television screen – the only thing in that house that they could use as a mirror – and tried to put his wet hair under control. A little Mohawk in the front and messy on the sides. From the TV screen Finn saw a human being in miniature struggling to run in his direction.

"Unca Finn!" Beth squealed steadying herself in one of his legs. "Why daddy call you hot stuv?" she asked while looking up at him.

Beth is almost three years old she is like a mini Quinn – which is a win, 'cause he didn't want anything from the bastard that knocked his wife up. Will and Emma are her godfather and godmother, but Beth has a thing with Finn, like the little girl has him wrapped around her little finger. Finn got her up in his arms and started to tickle her.

"That's because your daddy is silly!" he said passing Beth to Quinn.

"Where are you going, stud?" Mrs. Puckerman asked while making her way to sit with her husband. Puck put the girl on his lap and attacked her with more tickles making her scream with laughs. "Puck mentioned a date…" Quinn commented.

"Finn is going to fuck the Little Hottie!" Sam yelled out of the blue and jumped on Finn's back. "Get some, bro!"

"Hey! My daughter is here, you idiot!" Puck complained while putting his hands on Beth's ears. Quinn grabbed Blaine's pillow from the couch e threw at Sam, right on his face.

"Watch your mouth, Evans!" Finn also reprehended him. "I'm not going to _F. U. C. K_-" Finn spelled letter by letter carefully "-anyone and this is not a date. I'll get my jacket and my keys back. That's all." He explained before taking another look at the TV screen and fixing his Bon Jovi shirt a little bit. "I won't take long. Tell Will that I'm going to arrive a little late and tell Blaine I fixed his couch. See you guys later." Finn gave Beth a quick kiss and made his way out.

* * *

Rachel checked the time again and she exasperated dramatically. Time seems going by so slowly today; it was taking – at least – an eternity for each minute to pass by. She quit paying attention to her class after trying so hard to ignore the clock hanging on the wall in front of her. Her teacher continued talking and talking but she wasn't listening to one single word. Rachel jumped on her seat when she felt a kick behind her chair and looked at Kurt who showed her a little paper ball near her table. She grabbed and opened it very discreetly and read it what was written_:_

_You have the subtlety of an elephant, my dear .I'm waiting for the neon letters pop up on your forehead: I HAVE A DATE._

Kurt suppressed a laugh when Rachel let out an indignant gasp in the chair ahead of him. Seconds later the same paper ball rolled back to his feet and he caught it from the floor. Tina who was sitting beside them was trying to contain her own laugh; she was having fun watching their friends tease each other.

_For the last time: this is not a __**DATE. **__Stop this paper ball thing, I feel like we are back in High School. And stop disturbing me!_

He was about to write an answer when the teacher finished her class. Kurt got up and put his notebook back to the backpack and when he realized Rachel was already half way through the door.

Rachel had never left a classroom so quickly in her life before; she was always behind her time waiting with pointless conversations with her teacher and friends. She crossed the crowded halls as fast as she could and in record time she was outside and now what?

Julliard is huge.

A little detail that they forgot to discuss over the phone: where they should meet, a specific place, actually. She turned around looking for a tall silhouette with dark brown hair and found nothing. Rachel grabbed her cell phone from her pocket and bit her bottom lip while staring at his number in the recent calls; she wasn't sure if she should give him a call. Not so far away from her spot Kurt and Tina walked together without noticing Rachel there looking like statue in the middle of the campus.

She contemplated her cell phone screen for a few seconds still hesitant about the call. Rachel checked her surroundings, took a few deep breaths, tried to ignore the loud beats of her heart – she was so nervous – and finally called him. One beep, two beeps… She was almost giving up when his voice flooded Rachel's ears.

"Hey Julliard!"

_Hold on!_

_ How did he…? No, it can't be._

_ Did he really save my number on his cell phone?! _Rachel thought in awe and feeling the 'Finn Smile' forming on her lips.

"H-hi, Finn." She stuttered. "I suppose you are lost." Rachel added.

His delicious laughter was heard from the other side of the line and she couldn't help herself, she ended up laughing with him.

"Hum, yeah, a little. I'm, huh, in front of a theatre, maybe? I don't know. There's a subway entrance near me. If it helps."

"Oh, don't worry! We're close. Keep going and then you'll see a diner, I'm—"

"The Sue's Corner? Oh, hey, I'm seeing you! Turn around!"

He was wearing an old pair of jeans, black shirt, the same messy hair and scruff. Seeing him personally for the second time, Rachel tried to absorb as much details as she could about him; since the day was still clear she could see his face more visibly. Hands on his pockets, he walked in her direction making noticeable the little Mohawk that he tried to put on, Finn was smiling and she thought his dimples were completely charming. But his smell, dear god, he smelled like heaven. Rachel shook her head; she was staring at him too much.

"This place is so big!" he commented. "Did you just get out?"

"Yeah. A few minutes ago, actually. You can get lost here easily, you know… But you get used to it." Rachel answered while trying not eating him up with her eyes. Such a hard task, honestly. Don't blame her; Rachel is an independent – almost – young woman, single to mingle and completely free to admire the opposite sex. Only if she could do it discreetly, but Kurt was right, she was subtle like an elephant.

"Where are, huh, your friends?" they started walking together to The Sue's Corner when he asked. "Santana and Brittany, am I right?" Rachel nodded at him.

"Brittany must be at home already and Santana is tutoring, probably. What about your friends?" She was curious. He led them to one of the empty tables outside the diner and pulled a chair for her.

"Puck and Sam are training today and Blaine must be studying." He said taking a seat and grabbing the menu. Finn was starving. After spending his afternoon fixing Blaine's couch he kind of forgot to have lunch.

"Hey Patti LuPone, I see you chose The Sue's Corner for you date, I appreciate the preference." Sue popped up by their side so suddenly and so out of the blue that made Rachel jump in her seat. Her boss winked to Finn and was waiting for their orders. "Try not to fuck like rabbits all night long, 'cause I want you working on your shift tomorrow morning, young lady. " Sue ignored Rachel's alarmed expression and turned her attention to Finn. "And you, big boy, treat her well, okay? Don't make me kick your balls. Besides that, are the lovebirds ready to order?"

Hole.

She was ready to dig a hole.

Rachel wanted to dig a hole and hide herself in there for the rest of her life.

"Grilled cheese and an orange juice. What do you want, Julliard?" Finn informed Sue and passing the menu to Rachel.

"The usual, Ms. Sylvester." She whispered. Her face as hot as lava; she never felt so embarrassed in her life before. Unable to look Finn in the eyes, she added. "But bring me a strawberry juice this time."

"So you work here…" Finn looked around appreciating the place. It was pretty cool. (Actually he was trying to break the tension between them after Sue's words.)

"Why do people think this is a date?" she murmured and didn't hear a single word from his mouth.

"Oh, did it happen to you too?" he exclaimed feeling more relaxed and relieved as watching Rachel look at him with interest. The tension on her shoulders disappeared and Finn felt them creating a comfort zone.

"Did your friends think this is a date too? And here I thought I was the only one!" Rachel answered while her hands were gesturing dramatically. "I mean, I'm not saying that having a date with you is a bad thing, which I think it's not. But I'm not, by no means, asking you out – indirectly – on a date. The thing is, I-I spent the whole day tolerating my friends discussing my 'date' with you. Oh my god, I'm rambling."

_She was the cutest thing in the world_, Finn thought. Like, Rachel is so intense with her hands and talking, she talks really fast. Alright, so what if he couldn't keep up with her? Rachel is distracting too, she is pretty. She gets really intimidating – in a good way – when she feels nervous, just like now. Rambling and rambling. It's charming, honestly.

"What are you laughing at?"

_Was he laughing?_ He was. But he didn't stop smiling.

"Are you mocking me, _Finny-D?_" from his expression Rachel kind of knew that he wasn't laughing at her, but she teased him anyway with a playful tone and using his ridiculous nickname. Jacob, Sue's weirdo nephew, arrived bringing their snacks and depositing the juices… "JACOB!" Rachel screamed when she felt the cold liquid fall on her shirt.

"Ms. Berry, I'm so sorry! I'm so clumsy! Please forgive me!" the stammered while grabbing a cloth from his back pockets and trying to 'clean' the damage. The shirt that used to be white was pink because of the strawberry. And it smelled like one too.

Finn followed the waiter's hands carefully until she noticed his real intentions. He's not clumsy at all; he's just a little bastard taking advantage of Rachel. He's a dude, after all; Finn knows exactly what this Jacob guy is doing. Without wasting another second watching him feeling Rachel's boobs he got up and pushed Jacob away from her.

"What the hell are you doing?" he asked before pulling the boy by the collar. "That's how you do it, huh? Acting like clumsy waiter and dropping things on them just to get a little action?!" Finn's face was livid as Jacob was having trouble breathing. "Listen to me, you asshole. I'm gonna say this just once and you better hear me carefully: try to show some respect towards women from now on or I swear I'm going to give you a real reason to be clumsy. Am I clear?!"

Rachel didn't know how to react. One minute she was ready to have a nice chat and eat her vegan sandwich and then the next Jacob dropped the strawberry juice on her and Finn pushed him.

"Apologize. Now!" Finn barked as he put Jacob in front of the brunette still holding him by the collar. The boy growled in pain and was having a hard time in talking and breathing at the same time.

"What's going on?! What's this mess? Broadway Princess, what the hell your Prince Charming is doing to Jacob?" Sue arrived with her hands on her hips; she ignored her nephew's eyes begging for any kind of help while she tried to understand the situation. "Please, let him go, Lurch."

"Ja-Jacob dropped my juice all over me." Rachel explained. Jacob started coughing uncontrollably and Finn backed away with a severe expression.

"That's the third time today, kid!" Sue slapped his head. "Get out of my way, go!" she ordered as he ran away scared like a little boy back inside. Then she turned to Rachel staring the pink stain on her shirt. "I'm sorry. Your snacks are on me."

"He took advantage of her too, I saw it. He dropped the juice on purpose and tried to clean her chest, but he was really… You know… On, huh, her boobs." Finn informed Sue who was listening to him. He was so embarrassed right now. "I swear I'm telling the truth. I got mad because he was doing it right in front of me!"

"I believe in you, boy. Thanks for letting me know; I'll have a little chat with him. That perverted!" the older woman said. Sue turned her attention back to her employee and continued. "You know I can't fire him, but you are allowed to slap his face if he tries something like this again, LuPone." Rachel nodded.

Sue walked away and left them alone; a few seconds later it was possible to hear her yells and Jacob running as fast as he could as his Aunt chased him with broom in her hands. Rachel was distracted by the whole situation that she didn't even notice Finn picking up his jacket from the table and repeating the same gesture from the night that they met; putting it over her shoulders – this time he was smart and got his keys first. She didn't protest, but she was confused.

"Your shirt is stained." He said. Finn took her hand and they started walking. "C'mon, I'll take you home."

"You don't have to do that. My building is not so far away from here." Rachel countered, even though she liked the idea of him taking her home. He was so confusing sometimes, acting sweet and being chivalrous and suddenly he was the Tall Boy again, bad boy attitude and troublemaker. It seems like he has these two sides but she doesn't know which side is the real Finn.

"Do you remember what happened to you the last time you decided to go home alone?"

"I can take care of myself, Finn. I don't need a babysitter, you know." Rachel answered. They were bickering, but in a playful way.

"Shut up Julliard, and let me take you home."

* * *

_tbc._


End file.
